I've been sluffing off and just can't seem to get back in the swing of my morning workouts. I still get up at 5:45 am every morning, but I have no desire to do the routine anymore. I have been modifying it for over three years now, but lately I just shudder at the thought of doing yet again. Is there such a thing as a vacation from a workout???

Ultimately, I know no one can make you do this and it has to come from within.

I've been sluffing off and just can't seem to get back in the swing of my morning workouts. I still get up at 5:45 am every morning, but I have no desire to do the routine anymore. I have been modifying it for over three years now, but lately I just shudder at the thought of doing yet again. Is there such a thing as a vacation from a workout???

Ultimately, I know no one can make you do this and it has to come from within.

Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

8uck5hot,
I feel your pain brutha.
This is how I motivate myself to workout every day. Find a rabbit to chase...as in a competition to sign up for. For me it's Sprint Triatholons.
I decided last August that I would like to participate in a triatholon the following summer (2009) so I started biking and throughout the winter maintained a swimming regiment. The first of April I added running as well as breaking the bike back out. The date of my event is June 7th and I can't stand the thought of not finishing the race so I'm motivated every day (even when I don't feel like it) to go through my routine.
If I didn't have the race out there as a goal I'm sure I could come up with 1,000 reasons not to workout but the thought of making a fool of my self gets me out there.
The other thing I like about triatholon is the variety. If I get tired of riding I run, if I tire of swimming I ride, etc. Maybe you should mix it up a bit, afterall, variety is the spice of life.[;)]

8uck5nort, your post raises a couple of questions. Sorry, if you have detailed your workout routine in other posts, I don't recall it.

Please describe your routine. What sort of exercises are you doing in your sessions? How long do they last? How many days a week do you train? Do you vary the routine from day to day? How long have you been doing things this way?

Over-training is a very real problem. Loss of motivation is one of the biggest signs. Some of the other signs are sleep problems, frequent injury, and an increased resting heart rate. Have you noticed any of these?

Two of the best methods for the prevention and treatment of over-training are variation and active rest. Another term for variation is cross training. My personal workout style is the epitome of variation. In a given cycle I may do everything from boxing, to heavy lifting, to bodyweight exercise, to sprint intervals. If anything, I am guilty of too much variety but I no longer deal with the burnout that I once did. Active rest can also be called "back-off training". Many athletes use periods in which they reduce the intensity of their routines in order to allow their body to catch up and recover. I use distance running and more traditional weight lifting as active recovery.

Without knowing much about your routine, I would suspect that you could benefit from a reduction in your impact and workload, but I'd really like to hear more about what you do.

Monday: 15 - 20 minutes of stretching. I try to loosen up all muscle groups from the top down, start with neck rolls, arm rolls, chest rolls, trunk flexes and rolls, touch toes, balance on foot while extending other leg and end with knee bends. Monday is with no weights 12 reps each, Tuesday with two pound dumbells in hand 10 reps each , Wednesday with Three pound dumbells in hand 8 reps each, Thursday 5 pound dumbells in hand 6 reps each, and Friday return to Mondays stretching routine.

After daily stretching routine I do the following: 20 lunges, 10 push-up, 20 sit-ups, and finally calf stretches with a 65 lb weights on barbell and finshoff with 5 overhead lifts of the 65lb wieghts. By this time I am primed for my workout of the next 20 minutes or so as follows.

Monday: Usually lift on my bowflex working the tricep area and back muscle groups.
12 reps of what ever excersize I am using to target said muscle group, then
10 reps a little heavier, then
8 reps a little heavier, then
6 reps little hevier
Move onto second target area.

Tuesday: Either treadmill or eliptical 20 minutes. Going faster or adding more reisistance periodically. Begin by walking and ending in running or at about 70% total reisistance.

Wednesday: Repeat Monday, but target Abs and Chest muscles.

Thursday: Repeat Tuesday but if did eliptical then do treadmill or vice-versa.

Friday: Repeat Monday, but target Biceps and Shoulders.

At end of each session I grab my bow and put two arrows into my target while heart rate is up. I have a 12 yard ranges setup in my basement and I was tired of screwing up when the antlers showed up. JPH suggested this a while ago as a simultation of an adrenaline dump and it works pretty good.

Saturday and Sunday: Chores, yard work, Honey Do's or just relax (which usually means hunting, fishing, shooting rifles, hanging stands, or just sitting by the backyard fire pit staring into a camp fire, sipping a drink.)

I am sure I will bounce back, but was afraid that I was slipping into that "It doesn't make a bit of difference" thinking.

8uch5nort, please understand that I would not criticize your routine in the least if you had not asked for some advice. I am a big advocate of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". So few people in our culture exercise that anyone who is up and moving should be congratulated. But the fact is, what you are doing IS broken because it is no longer keeping you engaged.While your routine appears to be solid, repeating it over and over again for years is a ticket to burnout.

Have you looked at our "exercise/routine of the week" thread? It has a growing list of movements that you may find useful in adding spice to your workouts. You will also notice that you will see no small muscle, isolation exercises. I tend to look at isolation exercises as extreemly inefficient. They consume a lot of time and offer little return on the investment (the exception being injury rehab). I vastly prefer complex movemets that bring large muscle groups into the mix. For example, if you use the clean & press for strength and the burpee for conditioning, you just worked a huge percentage of your muscles and all of your energy systems.

www.crossfit.com is an excellent site. While I am not an avowed crossfitter, I do think they have some great workouts and they push the envelope in terms of variety.

An addition to what we share here, I have plenty of ideas if you want some advice on mixing things up. Feel free to PM me.

I need the proverbial slap in the face from time to time, so no sweat on the pointers/critiscm. I am finding that the hardest part about working out is the mental aspect because after a while the physical part just takes care of itself, unless you are hurt.

I will take a look at the crossfit site, and will look thorugh the fitness site for some ideas.

I also like the idea of some goal setting. The whole you gotta do it, "just cause", tends to wear thin after a while. Maybe take a martial arts class, or join some kind of activity that requires some level of fitness or something along those lines???

It would also help if my allergies would back off and give me some rest. Having the foggy feeling all the time doesn't help. In the past I've always been able to slug through it, but I am struggling this this year.

Take a break..It's always good too.. Ya know sometimes even a week is to little, maybe give it a month and go back into it. You lose some of what you have gained over the years, however youll gain it back quick and you may get the motivation to work out again.

"If I pull the hammer and shoot this young buck, he's dead. But if I pass on him, the next hunter might not shoot so straight."

I feel your pain I've lost motovation also, but do to circumstances out of my control. I fell down the stairs about 6 weeks ago and I'm pretty sure I broke a couple toes and maybe damaged a few tendons. I did not got to the doc. I was afraid he'd put me in some sort of cast or walking boot. That wouldn't have worked out well for Turkey Season. So for the last 6 weeks I've been hunting turkey hunting, and coaching soccer and softball on a very sore foot. After doing that I can't seem to make myself suffer through the pain to run or do other exercises. Luckily the swelling is starting to go down, it's still purple but I'm hoping to get back in my routine in a week or so.